-Molecular Biology program
-International student
-Not crazy about parties but few once in a while are cool
Better teaching? Better campus? Nicer people? 
All I know is that Penn State is higher in rank
Both are very good schools that will offer a good education and an interesting âcollege experience.â That said, Iâd recommend Penn State just because itâs in a more interesting part of the country: youâre not too far from NYC, the Eastern Seaboard; you can take public transportation to Washington DC and Boston, etc.
A few things that will sound random now but you may come to care about later:
Penn State gets twice as much snow as Purdue a year, on average. It will matter especially if youâre planning to stay in the area over breaks: all of your normal eating places will be closed and youâll have to walk to grocery stores, probably on un-plowed sidewalks with passing cars splashing mud at youâŠ
Penn Stateâs proximity to the big East coast cities would be nice for travelling, but might come back to haunt you if youâd like to work in the US after graduation. I donât have first-hand experience applying for jobs from either university, but I wouldnât be surprised if Penn State was âsecond choiceâ among picky employers after ânearbyâ private universities such as Penn, Princeton, Columbia, MIT or Harvard. (Employers willing to go out of their way to hire the best candidates are also the most likely to sponsor foreigners for a work visa.)
Private universities are much less popular in the Midwestern US (where Purdue is located), so employers would expect to find top talent at the public universities.
I think both are good schools, you canât go wrong with either. Personal preferences and COA should determine your choice. Go to the lessor costly.
Vast majority UG Bio graduates wonât be able to work in the bio field, it will be even more difficult or impossible for OP to find a job that will sponsor your Green Card. Your only choice is to get a graduate degree, most likely a PHD, in order to get any meaningful work in your specialty field.
Medical career is very unlikely either, if you retain your international student status.
@artloversplusâ
why is it hard to find jobs with bio degree?
Thereâs an oversupply of bio graduates, probably because itâs the default pre-med major.
IMHO, an UG Bio degree is worthless in the Bio field. I have numerous examples of kids who graduated with BS/BA in Bios cannot find any jobs in the Bio field unless they go on to an advanced degree. Its matter of supply and demand, the field is gutted with Bio majors who cannot get into a professional school.
I was working for J&J Research as an accountant, managing their budget and salary. I have never seen an entry level biotechnician was hired without a Phd in the resume, and that was thirty or forty years ago.
glad I chose Chem. E XD
Well, Iâm screwed.